Nui — Restaurant in Vancouver

I recently visited a newly opened Korean restaurant on Main Street in Vancouver. As many people know, Main Street is where a lot of Vancouver’s famous and trendy restaurants gather, so opening there almost feels like the restaurant is declaring confidence in its recipes.

The restaurant’s name is nui, and since I was born in Korea, I understand what the word means. Naming the restaurant “nui” seems to reflect their culinary philosophy and the direction they want to take—warm, comforting, and offering guests a feeling of being at home.

The space inside wasn’t very big, with about 12 tables, and the distance between tables wasn’t particularly wide. Still, I felt that the seating was arranged efficiently to make the most of the limited space. The kitchen wall was finished entirely with stainless steel, giving it a sleek, contemporary look, brightening up the interior, and creating a sense of spaciousness.

The menu focuses on modern Korean cuisine. In fact, having this kind of Korean restaurant open on Main Street felt unique in itself. The main dish here appears to be Gomtang, which comes served with rice but also has the option to swap it for noodles. I tried both versions—rice and noodles. The taste of the Gomtang was incredibly deep yet clean, bold but not heavy. Honestly, the soup was outstanding, and I finished every last drop.

For appetizers, I ordered the potato salad with added sausage. I also tried the marinated pork rice bowl and another rice bowl topped with marinated beef tartare (I think it might be called Yukhoe rice bowl). Every dish was so delicious and packed with umami that I couldn’t stop eating.

For dessert, I had Goguma (sweet potato) ice cream, and the combination of the toppings with the ice cream was perfectly balanced.

The serving sizes for each dish were reasonable, so if you visit with two people, I’d recommend ordering two appetizers and two main dishes. The menu isn’t huge, which is a little disappointing, but you can feel the care and effort that goes into every dish, and that was something I really appreciated.

Overall, I was very happy with my meal and I’m excited to see how this restaurant continues to grow...

Food too good to share!

A beautiful woman of Italian descent and a large man of Scottish roots head on out to Vancouver's newest Korean restaurant for dinner on the Sunday of the Victoria Day weekend. It had all the makings of an epic clash of cultural diversity. Oh did Nui prove that wrong!

Margaret started with house Salad. Full bowl of fresh Romain Greens with pieces of pear and a lovely light citrus dressing. I had a small nibble, found it to be deliciously refreshing.

I tried the Seafood Jeon on recommendation. It's 2 rice flour pancakes with a centre of greens and seafood. The Greens were properly cooked where they were fresh, still intacked. Although in small pieces I could taste the Shrimp and Scallop pieces. The dipping sauce enhanced the overall flavours. The dish was pleasantly presented.

Margaret had the Seafood Jeon as her main. That order confused our server until we let her know its reputation suggested I had no intention of sharing.

My main was the Pork Jowl Sooyuk. Thinly sliced pieces of pork jowl served over zucchini in a bright orange sauce. As unfamiliar as I am with Korean food I discovered the sauce was too spicy for my boring Scottish palate. Keep in mind, salt is the main Scottish spice. The pork literally melted in my mouth. Most, succulent and flavourful.

Still hungry (I napped through lunch) I tried the Nui Potato Salad. 3 Scoops of potato salad served with a grilled sausage. Chef Mac's creation. He personally delivered it to our table. I love Potato salad and this creation was simply delicious. If it was served on a flip-flop I would have goobled it up!

Dessert was a decent vanilla ice cream with Gogona sauce (light caramel) with a piece of sweet potato brittle. I reluctantly shared this with Margaret.

The drinks menu is small. Margaret tried the white rice wine and I tried the Korean beer. Both to our satisfaction.

An inviting cozy stylish atmosphere with friendly staff who are well versed in the menu.

Reservations highly...

As a critic for the Michelin guide (self-proclaimed) this nook was not great - it was phenomenal. It delivered on the level that deserves a standing ovation. It elicited facial reactions that I never knew I could pull off when experiencing a foodgasm. It married flavors with such creativity that made my legs weak, my eyes rolled back, and my whole body shaking.

It brought me home. Not the home that I grew up in, but one that I could imagine myself in if I was born a Korean.

It was a flawless demonstration of class and elegance with their exquisite attention to detail.

First place was the seafood pancake. A flavor bomb led by the charred onions with dill being a special guest, and a very welcome one now too. Fried to the right degree and textures were perfectly balanced.

Second was the seafood bowl. You would be remiss if you didn’t taste the rice by itself first - do it and thank me later. The real party begins when you discover the subtle but umami undertone of seaweed among the flavors in the rice, after which you’ll start to appreciate the incredible harmony the elements of this dish are singing to.

Last but absolutely not the least, the marinated pork bowl was a real star of the show. The egg yolk jelly brings forth a newfound playfulness to the table, and the sweet and savory flavors are dialled precisely to maximise joy. Oh man, those lightly charred pork slices were...